These low-maintenance groundcovers will add color to your garden without requiring a lot of fuss.
The following low-growing perennials work well in various situations as groundcovers without requiring much care.
In spring, they produce small yellow flowers, followed by inedible fruit.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
This prolific bloomer is covered with large clusters of flowers in April and May that attract butterflies and bees.
After the plant finishes blooming, the gray-green foliage forms an attractive mat.
This low-maintenance groundcover spreads slowly but eventually forms broad swaths if you let it.
Credit: Nancy Rotenberg
Platts Black variety has very dark leaves that look especially striking surrounding lighter plants or landscaping features like boulders.
It offers both colorful leaves and flowers, and is available in lots of different varieties.
The leaves also develop festiveshades of bronzy-purplein autumn.
Credit: Doug Hetherington
These attractive ferns are welcome additions to woodland or cottage gardens and pair well with other shade-loving perennials.
The rhizomatous fern spreads to 2 feet wide.
It can take some foot traffic and tolerates drought well.
Credit: Jeff McNamara
Once established, they make a cheery, low-maintenance groundcover for shadywoodland gardens.
The plants, which grow in low, dense mats that spread slowly, are quitedrought-tolerantafter theyre established.
There are lots of pretty varieties to choose from, and some stay lower than others.
Credit: King Au
One popular choice is Firewitch, which has brightpink bloomsand stays about 8 inches tall.
While not invasive, this groundcover plant wastes no time forming a sizable colony in your landscape.
Anative alternative plantis wild ginger (Asarum canadense), which has heart-shaped leaves but isnt as glossy.
Credit:Grant Webster
It will reward you in midsummer with cuplike pink flowers that open in the evening or on cloudy days.
The coloring will look brightest in full sun, but it grows well in part shade, too.
This low-maintenance groundcover forms a spreading mat in sun or shade but doesnt spread aggressively.
Credit: Mike Eagleton
Golden star plant is a perfect choice for woodland gardens, naturalized areas, or beneath trees and shrubs.
The foliage has a course texture, sodeer and rabbits tend to avoid this plant.
bloom for weeks beginning in late winter in white, pink, yellow, or maroon.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
are idealsucculents for rock gardens.
Hens-and-chicks thrive in hot, dry, sunny spots, slowly forming a low-maintenance groundcover.
Just see to it they have excellent drainage.
Credit: Doug Hetherington
Size:4 inches tall
Japanese Forest Grass
Ornamental grasses are a beautiful way toadd texture to the landscape.
Low-growing forms make excellent groundcovers, andJapanese forest grass(Hakonechloa macra)is one of the best.
It comes in glowing shades of gold and chartreuse and forms mounds of gracefully arching leaves.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Lambs Ear
Soft and silvery, lambs ear (Stachys byzantina)forms low-growing mounds.
Equally fuzzy spikes of purple to pink flowers appear in spring and summer.
If you dont want this plant to self-seed, deadhead the flowers.
Credit: Walter Chandoha
Good cultivars to look for include Cotton Ball, Big Ears, and Primrose Heron.
Most will bloom through the summer, producing clusters of pink, purple, or white flowers.
Even when not in bloom, lamium has eye-catching,silvery green foliagethat brightens up shady corners.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Then, the leaves turn a gorgeous shade of burgundy red in fall.
Despite its appearance and name, mondo grass is more closely related toliliesthan grasses.
Use this low-growing plant to fill in around other perennials and eliminate the need for mulch.
Credit: Bob Stefko
It spreads quickly to form large, dense mats of foliage.
It produces a fuzzy, silvery-green mat of foliage that is 23 inches tall and spreads 18 inches wide.
Tiny white or pink flowers bloom in late spring and early summer at to top of 10-inch-tall stems.
Credit: Julie Mikos
The Rubra cultivar is a standout plant that thrives in hot, dry areas and poor soil.
This drought-tolerant groundcover plant makes a stunning accent to a stone wall, patio, or rock garden.
Snow-in-summer can handle a range of soil types as well.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
It makes a pretty, mat-forming groundcover.
It produces so many starry pink flowers in summer that the green foliage is almost completely covered.
Max Frei is a variety with anextra long bloom time, running into fall.
Credit: Denny Schrock
This spreading perennial isnt prone to invasiveness.
Look for Rubrifolia, which provides burgundy-tinged foliage for extra interest.
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